Central Illinois Fire Chief Hit, Killed by Fire Engine

Officials say a rural Illinois fire chief was killed while responding to a call when he was hit by a fire engine that was backing up.

Fifty-nine-year-old Kenneth Lehr was chief of the Medora Fire Protection District in Macoupin County. The president of the fire district says Lehr and other firefighters were helping a man Thursday whose leg was broken by a fallen tree limb.

Police say firefighters were trying to close the road to clear the area for a medical helicopter, when Lehr was hit by a fire engine driven by a 46-year-old Medora firefighter.

Lehr was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been chief of the volunteer fire district for eight years.